Published online February 29, 2008
PEDIATRICS Vol. 121 No. 3 March 2008, pp. e638-e645 (doi:10.1542/peds.2007-1035)
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Timlin, M. T.
Right arrow Articles by Neumark-Sztainer, D.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Timlin, M. T.
Right arrow Articles by Neumark-Sztainer, D.
Related Collections
Right arrow Nutrition & Metabolism

ARTICLE

Breakfast Eating and Weight Change in a 5-Year Prospective Analysis of Adolescents: Project EAT (Eating Among Teens)

Maureen T. Timlin, PhD, Mark A. Pereira, PhD, Mary Story, PhD and Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD

Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

OBJECTIVE. Breakfast-eating frequency declines through adolescence and has been inversely associated with body weight in cross-sectional studies, with few prospective studies on this topic. This study was conducted to examine the association between breakfast frequency and 5-year body weight change in 2216 adolescents.

PATIENTS AND METHODS. Project EAT (Eating Among Teens) was a 5-year longitudinal study of eating patterns and weight concerns among adolescents. Surveys were completed in 1998–1999 (time 1) and 2003–2004 (time 2). Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the association between breakfast frequency and change in BMI, with adjustment for age, socioeconomic status, race, physical activity, time 1 BMI and breakfast category, and time 1 dietary and weight-related variables.

RESULTS. At time 1, frequency of breakfast was directly associated with intake of carbohydrate and fiber, socioeconomic status, white race, and physical activity and inversely associated with smoking and alcohol consumption and dieting and weight-control behaviors. In cross-sectional analyses at times 1 and 2, inverse associations between breakfast frequency and BMI remained largely independent of all of the confounding and dietary factors. Weight-related factors (concerns, behaviors, and pressures) explained little of the breakfast-BMI association. In prospective analyses, frequency of breakfast was inversely associated with BMI in a dose-response manner. Further adjustment for confounding and dietary factors did not seem to explain the association, but adjustment for weight-related variables seemed to partly explain this finding.

CONCLUSIONS. Although experimental studies are needed to verify whether the association between breakfast and body weight is of a causal nature, our findings support the importance of promoting regular breakfast consumption among adolescents. Future studies should further examine the role of breakfast habits among youth who are particularly concerned about their weight.

Key Words: breakfast habits • body weight • obesity

Abbreviations: EAT—Eating Among Teens • SES—socioeconomic status • YAQ—Youth and Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire

Accepted Aug 21, 2007.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JWatch PediatricsHome page
Regularly Eating Breakfast Reduces Weight Gain
Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, March 19, 2008; 2008(319): 1 - 1.
[Full Text]